As Donald Trump lurches toward defeat, cocky Democrats are turning their attention to Congress. With Hillary Clinton enjoying a double-digit lead over her billionaire rival in multiple national polls and several traditionally deep-red states up for grabs, Democratic leaders are looking for ways to run up the score by tying vulnerable Republican candidates to their divisive presidential nominee in a last-minute push to retake control of the legislative branch. And President Barack Obama, fresh off a new Gallup poll showing him with a soaring second-term approval rating, is emerging as one of Clinton’s most powerful secret weapons.

While Obama has long avoided endorsing candidates in down-ballot races—in part because vulnerable swing-state Democrats have previously viewed his support as less blessing than curse—the president is suddenly throwing himself into dozens of House and Senate races. With his legacy on the line, Obama is endorsing roughly 150 candidates in 20 states, as he fights to secure signature legislative accomplishments like the Affordable Care Act and a historic climate change agreement with China. The president made the first batch of endorsements Friday, with the remainder expected to be doled out this week and next, Politico reports.

The endorsements will be wide ranging in nature. Obama has reportedly already recorded a number of robocalls and advertisements for Democratic candidates, which will be supplemented with mailers, social media posts, and, in some cases, radio advertisements. The idea is to “make the case to voters that Democrats will put people first and make real progress for our country, while Republicans will continue to put party over country by supporting Donald Trump as their standard-bearer,” Kelly Ward, the executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, told Politico. Obama will even expand his support to include state legislature races.

“As we exit the stage, to make sure that we’re passing the baton not
only to Hillary Clinton, but also to a Congress that is willing to do
the people’s business.”

As Obama has turned his eye toward supporting down-ticket Democrats in the wake of Clinton’s ascendancy, so too has he turned a withering eye on Republican candidates supporting Trump. And with only a few months left in office, Obama isn’t holding anything back. Senator Marco Rubio, who is running for reelection in Florida, is “willing to be anybody just to be somebody,” Obama said, while Joe Heck, who is running to take Harry Reid’s seat in Nevada, would be just another Trump TV flunky after the election. Ohio senator Rob Portman, Obama suggested, had turned a blind eye when Trump “was attacking minorities, and suggesting that Mexicans were rapists.” California Rep. Darrell Issa received the worst of it Sunday, when Obama called him “shameless” during a blistering address at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

With a sky-high approval rating of 57 percent—far higher than either Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush in their second terms—Obama’s backing is in high demand. “Given where this campaign has gone from the national level on down, this is going to be a really good way to push a lot of these folks over the line,” Carolyn Fiddler, communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, told Politico. As the G.O.P. worries that Trump’s drastic drop in the polls will endanger down-ticket races, it has become open season for Obama, who after years of fighting an intransigent Republican majority in the House and Senate is leaping at the opportunity to steal away red seats. “As we exit the stage, to make sure that we’re passing the baton not only to Hillary Clinton, but also to a Congress that is willing to do the people’s business” Obama said at Sunday’s fundraiser, Politico reports.

Democrats’ strategy of tying the dying Trump albatross around Republicans’ necks appears to be working. Recent polling shows a 12-point drop-off in enthusiasm for Trump among his supporters, while the share of registered Republicans who are likely to vote is down 7 points since mid-October. If those trends continue, the question won’t be whether or not Trump will lose, but how much he’ll take the G.O.P. down with him.

Alabama: Joe L. Reed, 77

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Alaska: Genevive Mina

Could you explain your jacket?

I’m wearing a Kuspuk; it’s a traditional Alaskan jacket that they wear in the wintertime, so we made a summer version. It’s held up in the heat—it’s cotton and has this beautiful bric-brac trim. It’s gorgeous.

Ironic that you’re wearing this jacket when you’re from a state that’s the most impacted by climate change.

Exactly, I know. Our summers have gotten hotter and hotter every year. We’ve gotten less and less snow. A couple weeks ago, Fairbanks, Alaska was hotter than New York City. I don’t remember exactly how hot it was, but it was, like, mid-90s.

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Arizona: Jonathan Nez, 41

How has it been being a delegate in what seems to be the eye of the storm of issues in this election?

There’s a lot of excitement this election. Arizona is a battleground state. It’s always been leaning red, but it’s starting to turn around. We have an exciting race where our very own congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick—Congressional District 1, from the Navajo nation—is running against the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, John McCain. We are mobilizing throughout Arizona; all of the delegates here are pushing many of our Democratic candidates to win.

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Arkansas: Jason Henry, 39

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

West Virginia: Elaine Harris, 61

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Wisconsin: Gary Hawley

I’ve been a Hillary delegate from the very beginning.

Do you think Bernie’s contributions to the race have brought people into the Hillary fold?

Oh absolutely. He’s brought a lot of things up in the issues. We brought ’em up, and we put a lot of them in the platform. Not all of them, but we got 90 percent, so I’m happy.

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Wyoming: Ken Chestek, 63

Photo: Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Alabama: Joe L. Reed, 77

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Alaska: Genevive Mina

Could you explain your jacket?

I’m wearing a Kuspuk; it’s a traditional Alaskan jacket that they wear in the wintertime, so we made a summer version. It’s held up in the heat—it’s cotton and has this beautiful bric-brac trim. It’s gorgeous.

Ironic that you’re wearing this jacket when you’re from a state that’s the most impacted by climate change.

Exactly, I know. Our summers have gotten hotter and hotter every year. We’ve gotten less and less snow. A couple weeks ago, Fairbanks, Alaska was hotter than New York City. I don’t remember exactly how hot it was, but it was, like, mid-90s.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Arizona: Jonathan Nez, 41

How has it been being a delegate in what seems to be the eye of the storm of issues in this election?

There’s a lot of excitement this election. Arizona is a battleground state. It’s always been leaning red, but it’s starting to turn around. We have an exciting race where our very own congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick—Congressional District 1, from the Navajo nation—is running against the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, John McCain. We are mobilizing throughout Arizona; all of the delegates here are pushing many of our Democratic candidates to win.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Arkansas: Jason Henry, 39

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

California: Inder Pahwa

What do you think of Donald trump?

He’s not acceptable. He’s not even acceptable to people in his own party. People who find him unacceptable, they should come with us.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Colorado: Sheila Lieder

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Conneticut: Mike Cacace, 64

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Delaware: Bob Gilligan, 74

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Florida: Tony Silva

“That was very good for Bernie to do, but some of his people . . . I don’t know if you saw our delegation, but there are a lot of rows missing. Three rows. I’m not supposed to really dwell on that, because they said that the media’s going to try to make a big deal of it.”

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Georgia: Ben Myers, 71

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Hawaii: Dolly Strazar, 71

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Idaho: Bert Marley, 68

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Illinois: Lou Lang, 66

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Indiana: Baron Hill

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Iowa: Ako Abdul-Samad, 65

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Kansas: Kelli Snyder, 31

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Kentucky: Jerry Lundergan, 69

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Louisiana: Bishop Rodney McFarland Sr.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Maine: Former State Senator Phil Bartlett, 39

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Maryland: Peter Franchot, 68

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Massachusetts: Kyera Sterling, 23

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Michigan: Mayor Karen Weaver of Flint

How much emphasis will the Clinton campaign put on Flint throughout the rest of the election?

They’re using this platform to talk about the issues that we just talked about, because there are hundreds of Flints across the country. And if we don’t pay attention to these issues in terms of infrastructure, water quality, and environmental injustices, all of these places will experience what Flint is going through.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Minnesota: Delia Jurek, 70

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Mississippi: Cureley Clark

I have to ask about the shirt.

I’m with the NAACP, and I’m here as a delegate for Hillary Clinton. One of the strong issues in Mississippi is the Confederate flag, because we feel like it symbolizes hate. It’s currently part of the state flag, and we are of the opinion that the flag should be changed, or if it’s being flown, it should be taken down. I was happy to find that that position was taken here. There was a demonstration to have that flag taken down here in Philadelphia, and it was successful here, and that flag was taken down. We’re trying to get the flag down in the state of Mississippi, and we’re hoping to get that conversation to the national forefront.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Missouri: Rachel Gonzalez, 17

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Montana: Nick Lockridge, 35

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Nebraska: Frank LaMere, 66

“I am very much alarmed, as are all of the Native [American] delegates, and most of the delegates from around the country. [Trump’s] use of very racist terminology, especially with his reference to our women, bothers all of us. It bothers me, particularly. And I am going to work hard to defeat this bully, harder than I have ever worked, in any campaign over many years. Interestingly enough, this is my eighth national convention. I have been here every convention since 1988—35 to 40 nights—and I have never been as moved as what I saw last night, and I have never had more resolve than I have right now about defeating this bully Donald Trump. Indian Country has to take our rightful place in this process, and we have to complement the efforts of the Democratic party, and we have to get the job done.”

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Nevada: Nelson Araujo, 28

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

New Hampshire: William Shaheen

Are you related to [New Hampshire Senator] Jeanne Shaheen?

She’s my wife. I’m a superdelegate.

Can I assume that you’re a Hillary supporter?

I’ve been supporting Hillary since 2008, and I’m still supporting her.

What’s it like being married to Jeanne Shaheen?

Well, you’re going to have to ask her what it’s like being married to Bill Shaheen! I’m kidding. We’ve been married 47 years. It’s been great.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

New Jersey: Bill Pascrall III, 51

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

New Mexico: Seamus Berkeley

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

New York: Elizabeth Yeampierre

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

North Carolina: Marc Friedland, 67

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

North Dakota: Kylie Oversen, 27

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Ohio: Louise Buchanan, 62

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Oklahoma: Senator Anastasia Pittman, 46

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Oregon: Kevin Hunt, 58

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Pennsylvania: John Hellmann III, 64

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Rhode Island: James Diossa, 30

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

South Carolina: Richard Johnson, Jr.

It’s safe to say that you’re a lifelong delegate.

I have worked for the election of every Democratic president since Lyndon B. Johnson. This is my fourth national convention.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

South Dakota: Rick Weiland, 58

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Tennessee: Nathaniel Bone, 20

Wow, you’re a very young delegate. How did you become a delegate at such a young age?

I was very inspired by what Bernie Sanders was talking about, and when I was of age to be a delegate, I was very inspired and decided to run.

Have you decided to support Hillary?

Yes I have. I prefer Bernie, but I’m still a democrat at the end of the day, so I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Texas: Richard Gonzalez, 63

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Utah: Sheila Roboy

There’s probably a lot of resistance in Utah to get people excited for Hillary. How hard has it been trying to convince your fellow Utahans that Donald Trump is not the candidate for them?

They know that. Totally know that. As a matter of fact, Utah is now being looked at as a swing state. And the reason is, it’s because of Trump. Though a lot more of the Republican people are looking toward the Libertarian candidate, and some—very few—looking toward Jill Stein. There are a few months before the actual election, in which people are going to analyze, really, who more represents their values. And I think that Hillary, by being more religious—and they are a religious state—will appeal more to the Mormon base.

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Vermont: Martha Allen

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Virginia: Sue Langley, 67

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Washington: Germaine Kornegay, 46

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

West Virginia: Elaine Harris, 61

Photograph by Justin Bishop.

Wisconsin: Gary Hawley

I’ve been a Hillary delegate from the very beginning.

Do you think Bernie’s contributions to the race have brought people into the Hillary fold?

Oh absolutely. He’s brought a lot of things up in the issues. We brought ’em up, and we put a lot of them in the platform. Not all of them, but we got 90 percent, so I’m happy.